Centair
Centair Centair was a pioneering regional airline owned by Naco88 and managed by PlonRBLX that was established in 2013. The airline was based in Glasgow, but had routes throughout the United Kingdom. The airline operated a fleet of small turboprop and piston engine regional airliners and commuter aircraft that allowed the airline to operate from smaller destinations. Centair focused on detail and realism and was a rarity on the modern ROBLOX aviation scene. Centair, although small, was a well respected airline and was widely seen as one of the best carriers, and certainly the best in its class. Centair continues to inspire many airlines and its legacy lives on. Centair officially announced it's planned closure on the 9th of August 2017, although flights still continued into 2018. On January 2nd 2018, Centair ceased all operations, the last flight being preformed successfully on a BAe ATP. PlonRBLX later commented: It was an honour to serve you all tonight, and all the times before Centair has plans to restart full time operations in summer 2018 and is currently performing slow preparations for this return. No official date has been set. Passenger Fleet *British Aerospace ATP *Britten Norman Islander *Britten Norman Trislander *Embraer 120 Brasilia Cargo Fleet * Short Belfast * Vickers Merchantman Destinations * Barra Eoligarry Airport * Colonsay Airport * Aberdeen Airport * Dundee Airport * Glasgow International Airport * Bournemouth Airport * London City Airport (Inactive) * Guernsey Airport * Jersey Airport * Alderney Airport * Beziers Airport (Inactive) Bases * Thoram Air Park (Maintenance) Key Figures * Naco88 - Founder & Chairman (Retired 2017) (Works part time) * PlonRBLX - Head of Development (Retired 2017) (Works part time) * Thunderzayn - Head of Management (Retired 2017) * MeskDev - Head of Operations (Retired 2017) * LukeKG - Maintenance Manager (Retired 2016) * Feth114 - Co-Founder & Representative (Retired 2015) (Ex-Vice Chairman) * JuliusPGKC - Representative (Retired 2017) * 9Kian - Representative (Retired 2017) (Works part time) * Wightlink - Flight Operations (Retired 2017) (Works part time) * Ollie_S20 - Head of Flight Operations (Retired 2017) (Works part time) * M0n0c0l0us - (Looked after Centair Logistics for a year) Airline History Naco Air: In early 2013, a young entrepreneur by the name of Naco88 took a holiday in Greece, travelling aboard an Air Attica Q400. Inspired, Naco decided to set up a small airline: Naco Air. The airline had a logo, but no official group was ever made. The first aircraft was ordered from YrrebRBLX, a 737-800, and it wore a striking purple livery with the Naco Air logo down the side. A few months passed before the airline's first official airport was opened, Najaros. Najaros was a large international airport with a bright orange terminal building with a glass front. The building style was usual for the time, but the eye catching colour combination and the comfortable interior made the airport very attractive. The airport first came equipped with working check in areas, with a conveyor belt that led to a baggage area that could be directly loaded on to the aircraft. There was also a security area that led through to the lounge which had a small open cafe, and a glass roof. Unusually for an airport of the size, there was only one gate that stretched out from the main terminal onto the tarmac. The airport also had another building that was sealed off to passengers, and in here a small maintenance bay was constructed complete with stair trucks and taxis. Naco Air had its head office behind this, and a meeting room and lounge and office space were all part of the modern dream Naco imagined. The control tower sat to the right of the taxiway and overlooked the airfield and the sea. To complement this, Naco constructed a smaller airport called Liarteci. Liarteci consisted of a small runway and a purple terminal building to match Naco Air's colour scheme. Unlike Najaros, Liarteci was not equipped with high tech equipment, and there was only room for one waiting aircraft. The airport had two stair trucks parked to the side of the terminal as well as a bus that was available to transport passengers away from the airport to the small hotel down the road. Naco attempted to host flights, however, only a few people joined, and without any staff, they could not take place. Naco considered giving up on the airline business altogether, but his proud creations could not go to waste. Therefore, in August 2013, Naco set up a new airline and created a group. Naco Air was abolished, and Centair was born. Early Centair: Naco had met a fellow businessman by the name of Feth114, and together, they set up Centair for what it would become in years to come. Naco remade some of Najaros, and updated the terminal to suit Centair's look. A motorway was constructed linking Najaros and Liarteci, and the parking area at Liarteci was extended. Naco insisted that his own aircraft be used, and so, he constructed a simple aircraft he claimed was a 737, however it was quite clear from the outset that the aircraft was in fact far too simple. Despite this, Naco and Feth recruited their first pilot later that year, and Nork890 was to become the first Head of Flight Operations. Together, the three staff members worked hard to provide a few initial flights. As friends of friends joined, the airline's popularity spread slowly and surely, and by Christmas the airline had 10 full time members. In the new year, Naco and Feth introduced a ticket system that included economy and first class. Boarding passes were issued at check in and could be used with the new ticket barriers that functioned for those who had a card. The cafe was complemented with a working coffee machine that provided a range of hot drinks on demand. PlonRBLX Joins: Early in 2014, Naco88 sent a message out to hundreds of developers, and one of those messages landed in young pigpigpigpigpigplon's inbox. Naco had found Plon through his developmental work for another airline called Travel World Airways, but this airline closed leaving Plon out of work. Plon had not been a part of the aviation industry for long, as he had been working for clans and groups before this and had only known about the aviation industry from the sidelines. Interested, Plon replied and excitedly accepted the offer, and transferred all work from the dying TWA over to Centair, his new airline. Unbeknownst to him at the time, the rollercoaster he had just got on would take him and the airline on a path to success that nobody could have imagined. Plon had already began construction of a large airport called Pigmoporia however it soon became clear that architecture was not Plon's strong point. Therefore, he set to work on constructing an aircraft to replace Naco's 737. Plon's Dornier 328 was debuted at Najaros a few days after he joined and the aircraft was the first true CSG aircraft the airline had. Although the nose was basic and still had brick windows, the cabin was equipped with comfortable seats and overhead lockers. The aircraft was an instant hit, and although terrible by today's standards with its blocky build, inaccurate dimensions and decal props, Naco was impressed and commissioned Plon to build more. Still in his infancy in terms of aircraft building, Plon rolled out a hastily constructed A319 and A320 that were soon to be retired. Naco was also building and constructed a range of new airports including Tyde, Marflow and Toacama. Whilst Tyde and Marflow were relatively normal and unused, Toacama was to became Centair's second biggest hub at the time and it was here that the airline took a turn for the future, the airport was the testing ground for a new aircraft... PlonRBLX had been hard at work practicing his aircraft building skills and by mid 2014, a beautifully sleek and accurate E190 was introduced. The aircraft had one of the most comfortable interiors for the time and was a hit with current members. The aircraft attracted a multitude of members. Despite this, the E190 was in fact a mesh aircraft, and not a CSG aircraft. The only CSG used was to cut the bubble from the inside of the fuselage, and Plon seemed to prefer this style of building for a while. Soon, members had grown to about 50 and Plon's friend Thunderzayn, who had still been involved with clans decided to take on a new role in the airline. Thunderzayn worked on the rank structure and management, and set a string of adverts that attracted many members and soon the airline had 100 members. To celebrate, a fireworks display and flight with the E190 was held at Najaros. Plon introduced an airport called Bloxford that was also used for a short while that had 2 terminals, one of which was inspired by Yrreb's Mayford. Later that month, Plon also introduced the Jetstream 41, another mesh aircraft he had constructed. The aircraft had a light blue livery and the E190 was painted in this to replace the early orange livery. Kerry Era: The Jetstream 41 flew well for the remainder of the year, and took on the bulk of flights. A benefit of the aircraft was that it could be used to transport a full cabin and so was far more enjoyable to operate than a larger aircraft. It was from this point, that Centair decided to become a fully regional operation. The location for the airline was chosen as the United Kingdom, and Scotland was the home country. Plon attended a small flight in Namibia on a DC-3 with a gentleman called Chewybas and his DC-3 had been converted from an earlier mesh version. Inspired, Plon set about upgrading his Jetstream 41 to a CSG version. The aircraft was rolled out at Eastfield, Yrreb's main airport after a RoAir flight as a way of advertising the airline. Many people became interested in the group, and offered support in terms of airport places and finance. In response to this, Naco sent Plon and Thunder to find some external help. First to respond was Thunderzayn, and together with Naco, an investors system was established that lasted right up until the end. The system was an important change as it brought a steady flow of cash in to pay for audio and adverts. Plon meanwhile took a trip to Ireland after seeing a retweet on YrrebRBLX's twitter account of a flight on a Vickers Viscount with a small regional airline called Irish Air Shuttle. The flight was at an airport called Kerry, and its creator, POB97 got talking to Plon about an offer of a place. Plon showed POB the Jetstream 41 and impressed, set Plon up on the admin system, added a Centair check in, and the airport was ready for service. For the remainder of the year Centair ran a route from Kerry to Sligo and passenger numbers boomed reaching 250 by the mid 2015. The service was perhaps the most successful in Centair's history, and was the first to be recorded on YouTube. To complement these glorious times, Plon built a DHC-6 Twin Otter aircraft that was used for a brief time at another airport called Decatur, an airport built by the then relatively obscure LukeKG, a man that would later go on to host ROBLOX's greatest airshow, bigger and better even than RIA, sponsored by JetEire and Air Ruskin. However, in summer 2015, an argument between POB and Plon caused a collapse in relations and Centair was banned from operating at Kerry or Sligo. With nowhere to go, Plon and Naco searched for a solution. The Dutch Relations: As summer 2015 came to an end, Feth114 announced his departure and retirement from the airline and a new Board of Directors rank was introduced to take his place. Thunderzayn set up the new ranks and systems. Meanwhile, Plon had gotten to know, by coincidence three Dutch airline owners, Koekoek20, Netherlandsevlucht (Cirrofoen) and COEN1000. These three gentlemen would form an alliance with Centair between their separate airlines in which they would operate codeshare flights and share airports and developments for each other. The first alliance was between Centair and Koekoek20's FlyBlox. FlyBlox operated an A310, and for a brief period of time, the A310 shared both a Centair and FlyBlox livery. The second alliance was between Centair and NederJet, and this alliance lasted far longer. NederJet gave Centair access to a wide range of airports in the Netherlands, whereas Centair gave NederJet a Jestream 41 and Plon developed a Fokker F28 for their passengers. The Centair - FlyBlox alliance seemed at first to be the better of the two, with Plon and Koekoek20 forging a strong friendship, however, as cooperation grew into outright competition, the result forced the alliance to break down, and the airline went their separate ways. The Centair - NederJet alliance lasted all the way up to 2016, when it broke down due to NederJet closing its doors for good. All three Dutchmen played a part in Centair in some way regardless of their own airline's state up until 2017 as members of the representatives committee. Barra, Bern Belp, and Islanders: Centair commissioned Plon to build a replacement for DHC-6 in early 2016. His response was the BN-2 Islander, and the aircraft was used at Barra Airport, a small beach ai rport that had been built in 2015. LukeKG updated the detail on the beach landing strip and Naco helped with scripting. Although not much can be said about Barra and its growth, Barra remained a key part of Centair's history up until the end. Also around this time, Centair began operations at Bern Belp Airport, an airport built by AviFanatic. Although overshadowed a lot by the Glasgow & London City Era, Bern was the perfect fall back plan if London flights had to be cancelled, which happened a lot with Centair being in competition with FlyDoha, JetEire and Air Ruskin. Glasgow & London City Era: Centair's High Ranking members, LukeKG, Thunderzayn, Naco and Plon had come to know Darkbeastz and Doctortardiswho through the 2015 Aerodrome Airshow, and simultaneously, spaces were filled at Glasgow Airport and London City Airport. Both airports were highly detailed and offered Centair a chance to work with the big guns or roaviation. Member count soared, as flights took place directly after FlyDoha flights at City, and Air Ruskin services at Glasgow. Around this time, Plon also introduced the EMB 120 to the fleet. The EMB 120 was extremely detailed and had CSG props and a co pilot script. Staff demand grew, and many FlyDoha staff filled in when there were no Centair staff to run services. The London flights were very popular however an incident at Glasgow that resulted in the loss of an EMB 120 set the scene for most of 2016. Shoddy turn outs, and bad staff attitude led to a string of incidents which left Plon threatening to leave if action was not taken. Naco and Thunderzayn seriously stiffened up rules and all staff were removed and forced to reapply. The new batch of staff were far better, and best of all, there was a new Head of Flight Operations, an ex JetEire captain called Ollie_S20. Ollie saved Centair from drowning, and provided support with his flight school, Air Midwest and their Cessna 152s. Centair incidents decreased, but the sudden announcement of Doctortardiswho's plans to close London City were just another blow to the airline. Glasgow soon went inactive, and all flights for the remainder of 2016 and early 2017 were hosted solely at Barra with the BN-2 Islander. Bournemouth Airport: (Information soon) Channel Islands: (Information soon) Closure and Seasonal Flights: (Information soon)